


clip my wings and walk my miles

by mamalovesherbagels



Series: Chimney Whump Central [12]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: I write it, YOU KNOW IT, and just when he's struggling in general?, chim being a dumbass hiding when he's sick?, maddie not until the second chapter, yep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:53:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27052237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamalovesherbagels/pseuds/mamalovesherbagels
Summary: Chimney isn't an expert in taking care of himself under the best of circumstances, and these are not the best of circumstances. He's temporary captain, his friends hate him, he's just been stabbed, and he and Maddie are "taking a moment." It's no wonder he wakes up one day with a fever and what is probably a very nasty infection in his lungs.
Relationships: Howie "Chimney" Han & Henrietta "Hen" Wilson, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Chimney Whump Central [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726990
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	clip my wings and walk my miles

The pounding on his apartment door reverberates through his already aching head like gunshots-- or at least what he thinks gunshots might feel like.

He’s only been stabbed, not shot.

He wants to ignore it, wants to continue squeezing his eyes shut in pain until the sound stops, but it goes on and on, and then a familiar voice is shouting through the door and he knows that she’s not going to give in and go away.

Hen, other than the Buckley siblings, is possibly the most stubborn person he’s ever met.

He had thought a text into the 118 group chat saying that he’s sorry but he’s exhausted and needed to catch up on some sleep would be enough to satisfy any curiosity as towards why he wouldn’t be at the belated engagement party for Bobby and Athena.

He had THOUGHT so.

Besides, no one, not even himself, was enjoying his tenure as temporary captain and he figured everyone would rejoice in his annoying presence not joining them.

But Hen is yelling at him to open up and continuing to aggressively knock on his door, so he supposes that maybe he should have known that his best friend would need more than just a text saying that he was tired.

“Coming!” he shouts back, his voice hoarse and cracked as he stumbles up to his feet and over to his front door, pausing to lean against the refrigerator on the way.

“They pretty much already had their engagement party back at Christmas,” he grumbles, not even looking at her after he’s swung the door open, “tired. Didn’t think it would be--”

“You look like shit,” she says astutely, looking at his face before her gaze settles on the way his knuckles are turning white with the force of which they’re curled around the doorknob.

“Thanks.”

It’s punctuated by a cough, a cough that he knows his best friend would be concerned about even if she was not a paramedic. But she is one, and he can watch the rage physically pour into her in the form of redness meeting her cheeks. Her hand flies up to his forehead and she huffs.

“Chim, you absolute idiot, why didn’t you just call me?”

“M’fine,” he mumbles, knowing it’s not convincing in the slightest and it only seems to further Hen’s anger towards him.

“Clearly, you’re not. You’re fucking burning and--” she cuts herself off, watching the way he sways a bit, “Chim, honey, are you going to faint?”

She doesn’t wait for an answer, of course, already bringing her hands to his shoulders and trying to guide him over to the nearest chair, but it’s no use. His legs give out and his vision goes black.

He wakes up lying on his side, with his head in her lap. She must see the confusion on his face, because she hushes him.

“Shh, don’t try and talk yet. Just breathe. Nice and easy, your chest sounds pretty congested. Probably have pneumonia, you idiot.”

He opens his mouth to speak and she shakes her head.

“What did I just tell you? No talking yet.”

He tries to scoff at her, but it gets caught in his throat and he ends up hacking a few times with Hen sighing and patting his back.

“You’re alright-- I mean you’re not, but you will be-- just breathe, Chimney. It’s okay, I’m here. Going to take good care of you, even if you don’t deserve it because you didn’t just pick up the phone and tell me you were so sick. Knew something was wrong. Wouldn’t miss our friends’ engagement party just because you’re “tired,” hmm?”

“Mmm… what?”

“You fainted, Chimney,” Hen sighs, running a hand through his sweat soaked hair, “your fever is… far higher than I’d like it to be, though that’s just going of my hand on your forehead because I haven’t gotten a second to actually measure and you’re coughing like you have an elephant stuck in your chest. Probably pneumonia. Going to get you to the hospital once I can get you out to my car without you falling all over the place.”

“Don’t feel too good.”

“Really? That’s a surprise to me,” she says with an eye roll, but she’s still soothingly carding her fingers through his hair, “glad I thought to come by and check on you. Would’ve been here all on your own all day, and that certainly wouldn’t have been a good thing.”

“Party?” he whispers, and it’s just one word, but she knows him well enough to read all she needs to from the look in his eyes.

“Don’t, don’t do that,” she shakes her head, “I would much rather be here tending to my very sick, very stupid best friend than at a party with no idea that he needed my help. Bobby and Athena will understand and they wouldn’t want you to be alone either.”

“Feel weird, Hen,” he whimpers, and pissed as she is at him, she can’t help the pout that starts to form on her lips.

“Weird how, Chimney?”

“Head feels… fuzzy,” he whines quietly, squeezing his eyes shut tight again, “feel dizzy. Cold but also hot. Chest feels weird. Sleepy.”

“Well, it’s not naptime yet. Gotta get you some medicine and probably an IV of fluids since I’m guessing that was a dehydration faint from that high fever. But then, yes. All the sleep you want.”

“Thirsty. Water?”

“Yeah, water is good. I can get you some water. Just…” she murmurs, gently, gently sliding his head up from off her lap and onto the floor, “let me get the thermometer and some water. Have you taken any Advil recently?”

He nods, and that makes her wince between he had taken a fever reducer and was still absolutely burning. Definitely a nasty infection in need of antibiotics.

“Easy, easy,” Hen hums when she returns, slowly and methodically helping him shift to be sitting up against her, sliding the thermometer into his mouth, “I’m going to say this again while there’s something in your mouth so you can’t talk back to me: you’re an idiot.”

She’s further proven correct when the thermometer beeps and she sees the reading, biting her lip to keep from cursing under her breath. 

It’s not _quite_ in the danger zone, but it’s certainly encroaching upon it.

Idiot. She shudders to think of him alone, delirious and helpless while she was on her third hypothetical beer at Bobby and Athena’s party.

“Okay,” she sighs after taking a deep, calming breath, “little bit of water and then I really need to get you to a hospital. There we go, little sips. I got you, Chimney. Going to get you all better and then I’m going to yell at you later.”

“Yell at me?”

“Mhmm. For me only finding out that you’re so sick because I decided to play detective. That’s Athena’s job, not mine.”

“Mmm. You’re good at it, though.”

“Shut up,” she snorts, frowning when he leans his head back against her and she can feel the heat radiating off his skin, “I’m mad at you. Don’t try and butter me up.”

“You’re cold, Hen,” he says in a whine, shivering a bit.

“No, you’re just fucking on fire. Okay, I’m going to help you get up. Slowly. And then we are very, very carefully going to make our way over to my car.”

“S’fine. Don’t have to--”

“If you pass out again, I’m gonna have to call an ambulance. Do you really want that?”

“...No.”

“Yeah, I thought so. So let’s be slow and careful and get you into my car without any further incidents. I’ll call Karen from there and let her know I won’t be joining her at the party because my best friend is a pneumonia hiding dumbass.”


End file.
